Lightweight
by corneroffandom
Summary: When Brad leaves after trying to point Felix in the right direction, the nurse has second thoughts while remembering something.


Still reeling after his conversation with Brad Cooper, Felix Dubois stands in Michael Corinthos Jr.'s shadowy apartment, gaping at the door with sad eyes, reflecting on everything the phlebotomist had told him, and what he'd hadn't. Sighing, the nurse turns to look at the wine glass left laying, reaching out to pick it up and put it in the sink, give Michael one less thing to worry about when he'd return home. He's just touched the cool glass when something clicks with him, remembering how he'd told Michael not even half an hour ago that Brad was a lightweight when it came to alcohol consumption. "Wait, he-" Everything else forgotten, he leaves the wine glass where he'd set it and runs to the door, suddenly worried. "Brad-"

The hallway is empty and his eyes widen, mumbling a soft curse under his breath as he pauses only long enough to shut the door behind him, running to the elevator. He hopes to catch the man there, his uneasy feeling only growing the further along he goes. "Why didn't I think of it sooner?" The elevator area's empty, too, and he groans, turning to look at the stairwell. "He wouldn't have... would he?" They're only on the third floor, so he could've if he'd been that anxious to get away, but... "Come on, Felix. You put all of this into motion, do something about it," he tells himself before opening the door and venturing into the stairwell. He hears nothing, no echoing footsteps or muffled voices, just perfect silence. Again.

"Dammit, Brad, why can't you make anything easy?" he mumbles, taking the steps two at a time until he comes up on the landing between the ground floor and the 2nd, almost running straight past a dark shape barely noticeable in the shadows. At the very last minute, he skids to a rough stop and turns back around, squinting into the corner with a frown, venturing towards the soft, hitching breaths he can hear from there. "...Brad?" he asks lowly, reaching out for the shorter man and tugging him out into the light, relieved that he'd caught him before he could drive or anything else potentially dangerous if he _is_ at all drunk. "Hey, what are you doing? Are you ok?"

"Fine," he mumbles. "I'm always fine, Fi. Can't you tell?"

Felix stares down at him, a deep frown on his face. "Yeah, you're the picture of perfect health," he mumbles sarcastically, still clinging to his arm and relieved for it when he sways, eyes dark and bloodshot as he stares up at Felix. "Come on."

Brad, however, chooses then to be stubborn and wrenches his arm away. "Why would I go anywhere with you? You've made it clear you can't stand me." He staggers, about to step awkwardly back onto the stairs but Felix grabs him once more, just before he trips on the next step down and takes a header. "Whoa," he mumbles absently, shaking his head.

"Be careful," Felix groans, squeezing his arm warningly. No matter how Brad skeeves him out, he's still a nurse and the last thing he wants is there to be an accident. There's already been too much pain during this situation as it is.

Brad, however, seems surprised by this, blinking blankly at him. "Since when do you care about my wellbeing?" he asks, tipping forward until the only thing keeping him upright is Felix himself.

"I'm a nurse, I don't like seeing anyone hurt," he mutters, carefully guiding Brad down the stairs. "Just take it slowly, one step at a time."

Brad hums, mumbling to himself as they walk together down the stairs to the front lobby of the apartment complex. As they leave the building, the sun pouring down upon them, Brad winces and shields his eyes. "Where are we going?"

Felix releases a breath, unable to wrap his mind around what he's about to say. "To your apartment. You keep inviting people to come see it, well, this is your chance."

Brad blinks at him, senses still dulled from all of the wine he'd gulped down earlier. "Oh, ok. Sure." Felix sighs as he almost walks into the nearest car. Once they're safely walking towards _his _car, Felix hopes that this isn't a mistake, but Brad seems uncharacteristically subdued since the earlier confession, so he tries not to worry too much, figuring at the least that Brad is too buzzed to really manage anything serious, and if he tried, Felix could get away or, worst coming to worst, overpower him.

But he says very little, merely staring blankly out of the windshield as Felix drives them to his apartment, relieved for the GPS on his phone, certain that Brad couldn't guide himself to the other side of the street, much less the fifteen minutes it takes to get to the small building that it directs them to. Felix stares at the house before turning to Brad. "Is this it?" he asks, gaping as the man struggles out of his seatbelt. He barely seems to notice as Felix reaches over, first releasing the belt and then opening the door for him, allowing him to eventually stagger out of the car. "Guess that's a yes," he mutters.

Staying nearby, just in case, he follows him up a flight of stairs and into the house, where they have to walk through one person's bedroom, which is thankfully empty, to get to Brad's. Felix hesitates at the doorway and glances around, taking it all in. "Huh," he says. Not that there's a lot to see, just a bed and other small pieces of furniture scattered around.

Brad walks towards the bed and stares blurrily over at Felix. "Come inside," he urges. "Take a load off. The chairs are kinda... kinda com- comfortable." He makes a face at that, watching closely as Felix hesitantly ventures inside and sits down on a chair across from the bed. "Welcome to my humble abode," he grunts before falling onto the mattress spread-eagled.

Felix swallows and looks away, even more uncomfortable at forcing this whole situation, letting Brad get so drunk, not to mention everything that had happened with Michael. "Uh-"

Drawn to his voice, Brad looks up and blinks at him. "Did you say something, Fe-Fe?"

Felix winces at the nickname, wondering why it's something both Taylor and Brad feel the need to call him. "I really hate that name," he mutters, sure that Brad is far beyond listening to him.

He's proven wrong, however, when the lab manager slurs, "Oh. Didn't mean anything by it. Ok if I call you Felix then?"

The nurse blinks a few more times before nodding, his mouth dry. "Sure, that's fine," he finally says, nodding weakly, though he still doubts that Brad is watching him.

"I'm sorry," he mumbles. "Guess all I've ever done is annoy you, huh?"

Felix stares at his still limp form, taking a breath as his conscience yet again prickles over what he'd done today, resolving to also apologize to Michael the next time he sees him. He'd been so miserable for so long, he had thought he could help Sabrina with Patrick and live vicariously through her but, here, now, staring at a nearly unconscious Brad, his earlier truth about Felix pimping out a straight boy echoing through his head, he has to admit that he'd been far beyond obsessed with his best friend's love life. "Er, Brad?" he speaks up, intending on apologizing when-

He hears a light snore, blinking in shock at the bed. Brad is laying limply there, fast asleep and... he almost looks peaceful... kind of cute. Felix shakes his head desperately, wondering where that thought had come from, _sleaze _Brad Cooper being cute?! But... he doesn't seem that bad right now, this afternoon putting him in a bit of a different light, so Felix stands slowly and finds a blanket, spreading it over the man's limp form, stepping back. "I'm sorry too, Brad, I took all of this _way_ too far," he mutters. "Thanks for giving me that hint about Westborn's mom, though. See you at the hospital."

As he leaves quietly, Brad shifts and curls up in the blanket that now smells a little like the other man, smiling in his sleep. "...Felix," he murmurs.


End file.
